The Surprises Just keep coming...
If Scott thought that his birthday surprise party was the only celebration of his birthday this year, then he was wrong!  I had another surprise up my sleeve...   This surprise was more of a layering of one surprise on another...
I arranged for a day off of work for Scott last Friday, and we headed up to my parents house.  He knew something was up, but had no idea what.  My parents told him that they had arranged for us to attend the "full-mooners" concert at the Ironstone winery.  They told him the concert took place the weekend of the full moon and featured local bands and wine tasting.   They told him they had attended before, and it was a lot of fun.  We left Kona with them, and took off for the concert.  We arrived a little early, so we decided to walk around the little town of Murphey's where we "happened" to run into our good friends Teri and Joe.... Surprise, Teri and Joe are joining us!  He was surprised, and very happy.  All four of us headed to the "full-mooners" concert at Ironstone.  I kept making mention of how many people were attending this concert in the mountains.  Scott said he thought that it was because there was nothing else to do in the mountains... little did he know...
We finally found our seats on the lawn and spread our blankets out waiting for the concert to start.  It was a beautiful evening, and such a fun time enjoying the surroundings and good friends.  The concert finally began, and the opening band was "Wiskey Dawn" which happened to be the same band we had seen just two weeks prior at a free concert in Vacaville.  Scott thought that was the surprise, and he was again surprised...  we had enjoyed this band before, and he thought we were there to see them again.... little did he know...
Wiskey Dawn was great, but the best was yet to come... It wasn't until the end of their performance that Scott finally heard them say something about the Mississippi Girl, Faith Hill!   He looked at the three of us who wore big smiles on our faces, not able to contain it any longer....  He finally figured out that we were there to see Faith Hill!!  Surprise!! this was the big surprise!  It was an amazing concert under the stars with the full moon hanging in the sky....it was perfect, to say the least.  The only thing missing was Tim!
Since we could not have our cameras with us, we have no pictures of the concert, just pictures of before...
Thank you for joining us Teri and Joe... it was such a blast!!!

"Trust in the Lord with all your Heart, and Lean Not unto your Own Understanding.  In all your ways, Acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your path."  Proverbs 3:5-6

I know this is a verse that has been overused so much, but tonight it was illuminated to me more than ever before.  There are four verbs in this verse: Trust, Acknowledge, Lean, and Make Straight.  Four actions that need to take place for true peace.  Don't we all seek true peace?
I do not want to become too preachy with this post, but I hope that you will take a few moments to really think about what this verse means.  Many of us have heard this verse so many times it has lost a little bit of it's meaning.  The best illustration I heard in regards to this verse was to compare it to a newborn baby.  As a newborn baby is Fully dependent upon it's mother for everything, so must we be fully dependent on Christ for everything.  The baby trusts it's mother to the fullest...it doesn't even give a thought to where it will find food or shelter or comfort... it just trusts.  The same goes for us... God has promised to provide, we need to trust that He will do what He has promised to do.  Ahh the peace that comes when we truly rest in His loving, gentle, and caring arms!
I just had to share this picture of my dear friend and her newborn.  I hope you do not mind being used as an example Katharine... but there was never a better example. 

Happy Birthday Surprise!

Scott turned the big 35 (today actually), and I decided to throw him a surprise party last night while our friend Steve was in town visiting from Michigan.  I sent an e-vite about a month ago, and then last week I realized that I actually needed to plan the party!  Thankfully Steve came to the rescue with fabulous party ideas!  We decided to incorporate games from the new show "Minute to Win it".
I managed to get Scott and Steve out of the house for a while by telling them that I was throwing a Mary Kay party.  Really I was getting ready for the surprise party with the help of my dear friend Teri.  (Couldn't have gotten it done without you Teri!)
Scott and Steve FINALLY arrived and Scott WAS surprised! 

And Let the games begin...
The first one Matchmaker, Sarah and Scott competed...  Sarah, Great job at beating Scott with your systematic approach!

"Roll With It" Object: to roll two rolls of toilet paper on each arm simultaniously:

"Face the Cookie" Object: to move a cookie from your forehead to your mouth using just your facial muscles:

"Penny Hose"  Object:  To retrieve pennys out of the bottom of "unoccupied" panty-hose without touching your hands to any other body part to assist you.

"Dizzy Mummy"  Object" to wrap an entire roll of toilet paper around your body without breaking the toilet paper by spinning in circles.

"Magic Carpet Ride" Object: to inch the "magic carpet" along the floor and through the "obstacle course"

 "Spoon Frog" Object: To use one spoon to flip the other spoon into the cup (harder than it looks)

And when you are finished with the games, make up other uses for the game pieces:

And the After-party party.... Why not play make-shift ping pong when you have the ping pong balls? Coasters work as great hand paddles

Thank you great friends for making Scott's birthday extra special!

Nothing Beats a Day at the Lake!
Scott and I are the co-owners of a ski/fish boat that we share with my two brothers, and sometimes I think we forget that fact.  Our very good friend Steve was in town visiting this week, and we thought it would be fun to take the boat out to the lake for the day.  (Something we haven't done at all the past two summers!!!) We forgot how wonderful it is to be on the lake enjoying the water and wakeboarding.  We promised each other that we would not wait so long again to take the boat out...

Ok Scott, you REALLY need to get some sun!

Looking good Scotty!

Like a Pro Steve!

Dragging the boys all over the lake!

Precious Moments with a Precious Family

We are taking every possible opportunity to spend time with Jon, Jess and the boys, as they will be leaving us next month to start new adventures on the East coast.  We stole a few hours last Saturday to pack all seven of us into the car and head to the beach.  It was a beautiful day at North Salmon creek beach with mild temperatures in the afternoon that cooled as the hours grew later.
It was an afternoon full of many of the memories we will hold so dear when this precious family leaves us next month.
Scott and Jess enjoy the homemade bread on the beach... doesn't get any better than homemade bread!

Mmmm.... bread... "I" loves it too and feeds it to Uncle Scott!

J and E enjoying the sand:

Building a tent

Auntie Jen and "I" cuddle time:

Ahh, nothing like Michigan in the summertime! 
If I could spend the entire summer there, I would!
My favorite place to be in the summertime- on the deck overlooking the yard, horses, garden, and blue puffy-clouded sky:

Our Favorite Summertime Activities in Michigan:
Picking Rasberries

 Mowing the lawn:

Playing Cards:

Pool Time:

Relaxing by the pool with a cold beverage:

Free Concerts in the Park

Feeding the Ckickens:

Visting Rudy the Pony and Wilma 2 the goat:

Painting our Toenails:

Getting all Dolled up for Dinner:

Painting:

Cleaning out the Shed:

Seeing Cousins:

Time at the Lake:

And the BEST Part of Summer is Time with the Family!

SURPRISE!!  
We flew out to Michigan to surprise Scott's Mom and Dad for their 40th Anniversary.  Scott's sister and I had been in "kahootz" with the plan weeks before our trip.  Her family planned to spend the weekend with mom and dad and wanted to have a family BBQ with them on Friday night.  She asked them to meet them at the bar down the street from their house beforehand for appetizers and drinks.  When they arrived at the bar they greeted Ann, Vince, and the kids and sat down at the table with them, completely unaware that we were also at the bar on the other side of the room.  We made our way over to the table right next to them, and sat down.  They had no idea it was us (due to our conspicuous costumes).  We sat there for a few minutes and finally Scott turned around and began to speak to his dad who still did not recognize him.  Finally after a double take his dad recognized him, but still did not recognize me.  As we began to remove our disguises, his mom finally recognized us both!   They were overjoyed and VERY surprised to see us.
We looked like biker people with the following garb, and I doubt anyone would have recognized us!

New Guest Bed
We have been using Craigslist a lot in the past month to sell off things that we just do not need or use anymore... don't you just LOVE craigslist!  We finally sold our last (and largest) item which was a bedroom set (the old guest bed).  I was motivated to sell some things when I found the perfect guest bed for our small guest bedroom at Ikea a while back.  It is a day bed that opens up to be a super comfortable King sized bed...
It gives us more room in this small room which has also become my Mary Kay room.  It has great storage space in three drawers underneath, and it makes for a very cozy place to read and rest.   I had a great time covering some throw pillows that I had lying around waiting to be used.  Scott and I worked for nearly 3 hours last night putting this bed together, but it was totally worth it!  It was also worth the wait to sell items before buying a new item... we simply used the money from the old to replace with new!  The best things come to those who wait.... a lesson I am continually learning!

Kite Fun
My parents surprised us this weekend and sent us on an overnight at Bodega Bay.  They had visited Bodega Bay earlier in the week, and since they had so much fun they wanted to bless us with a little get-away of our own!  We were sent off Saturday morning with strict instructions that we were to follow for our adventure.  Our first stop in Bodega was the kite and candy store where we were to speak with a man about a kite.  We did that, and walked out of "Kites and Candy" with a brand new Prism Nexus kite.  Knowing very little about kites and kite flying, we set off for Salmon Creek beach to try our hand at kite flying.  We followed the instructions given to us by my parents, and reiterated by the kite-man, and after a few attempts we had our stunt kite up and flying and even doing tricks.  In just a couple hours our spirits were soaring with the kite and we felt like we were kids again!  My mind was racing with all sorts of kite flying memories from childhood.  I remember going to the store right next to our house to buy a simple little kite.  We had two large fields on our property to fly the kites, but we always managed to get them stuck in the trees.  I remember making my own kites (when the store was out of them).  I would take two sticks and tie them together with string.  Then I would take paper or fabric or something and tape it to the sticks.... those kites never got far off the ground.  Then I remember running circles in the field in a desperate attempt to get the kite to fly on days when there was no wind.  Flying the kite this weekend got us to revert a bit back to our childhood... it was just like we were seven again.  Only this time we were flying a "REAL" kite... a stunt kite with TWO strings instead of one, and built to fly and crash like a champ!
After our kite flying adventure on the beach we headed to Lucas Warf for dinner where we were told that the Halibut and the Sauted Calamari were to die for.  Since my parents hadn't steered us wrong thus far, we took their advice and enjoyed a tasty meal overlooking the bay.  It is amazing how even just 24 hours away can be so relaxing...something we both needed badly!  Thanks Mom and Dad!!
One a side note, Scott woke up earlier than normal this morning wanting to go out and fly the kite at the park near our house (just like a kid).  Since the sky was dark and threatening rain I talked him out of it.  I didn't think it would be a good idea to play Ben Franklin.